


Heart of Fire

by chioNightcross



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Family, Fighting, Multi, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-19
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-05-02 08:42:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14540979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chioNightcross/pseuds/chioNightcross
Summary: 'Protect your fire and keep it burning.' Those were the last words that her mother had said to her before Samantha was kidnapped and brought to the Tower. Words that she would keep close to her heart. She would keep her heart of fire burning no matter what.





	1. The tower.

**Author's Note:**

> chioNightcross here, and this is the first story i'm posting to this site, so i hope you guys enjoy it! To be honest, the idea I had here come up while I was reading Titania and the Hunter, recommendation by the way, good story! Anyway This story came about while I was reading that story, along with some ideas I had floating through my head about something like this for awhile. I'm not going to spoil anything as to what's going on in the future, but I will say that i'm excited to hear from people about what they think with this!
> 
> Anyway, On with the story!

The stinging. She could still feel it no matter how hard she tried to ignore it. The stinging from the whips that the men had hit her with after she kicked one of them in the groin. The pain of the same man punching her in the stomach, the blood she had coughed up not to long afterwards. The pain her feet felt after having to step on several sharp stones while being pushed forwards. Stinging once more hitting when she felt a splinter in her foot. The pain of all the lashes and bruises in general making her wince ever step, but she refused to cry out in pain.

Fresh tears clung to her eyes, though she refused to let them fall, even as she was forced into a cage along with another child that was right beside her. It hurt more then anything to remember her parents yelling at her to run, before the loud scream echoed through the house she had been living in with them. She could still feel the bruises of when they first grabbed her, the large hands digging into her arms and the back of her neck, and the pain of when she was thrown into a wall.

Unsteadily getting to her feet by using her bruised up hands, the girl quickly fell on her face when her arms failed her. She tried again with the same results, and it wasn't until the 3rd time that someone touched her shoulder to try and help her up. The touch was more than enough for the girl to let out a surprised sound, before she clawed at the hand.

"Careful now, I'm not here to hurt you." An old voice spoke up causing the girl's eyes to snap up toward the owner. Her pupils shrunk in pure fury at the man, her whole being showing that she wasn't registered anything but to fight as hard as she could. So she did as such, her hands continuing to claw at his.

The old man had a kind smile on his face, even as a bit of blood started to leave his hands. The wounds weren't deep, he'd had much worse before, but that wasn't his worry at the moment. Careful setting his other hand on the girl, even as she thrashed around more, the yells of primal rage coming from her leading to a few more wounds on the old man's body. Even then, he still didn't let her go, until he started to channel magic into his hands, the slight green light being enough to cause the girl to stop thrashing about, even as she felt her wounds closing.

Eventually the relief of her wounds disappearing was enough for the girl to slump in the man's arms, the toll of the day causing her to fall in unconscious in his arms. The fact that she had been fighting so hard was the only thing that had the old man worried. If she was that rebellious now, then he was worried about how she would be when she became older, especially when she was finally forced to work. It worried the old man more than he was willing to admit, especially when the girl was so young as it was.

Setting the girl down, the man laid her in his lap to let her sleep longer, a hand combing its way through short brown locks. The girl's eyes had been a startling silver color when they were glaring at him, something he hoped wasn't natural. The last time he had seen someone with eyes colored like that… No it was best not to think about that for the time being.

Letting a sigh leave him, the old man felt the girl stir a bit, but knew that she would be a sleep for a bit still. He worried for every child that came into this hell, and he yearned for the times when they would smile towards him. None of the other children he saw could stay very long, so it was different to hold her in his hands, knowing that she would be in this cell.

Another sigh left the old man as leaned his head back, memories of his younger days flashing before his eyes, a soft smile appearing on his face, even as he fell deeper and deeper into sleep. Tomorrow would be a new day of hell for the newest 'Workers', and it was not one that he was looking forward to have the girl experience.

**Heart of fire**

Soft humming echoed around the girl, the noise being enough for her rage filled mind to calm. A pleasant feeling went through her body at the humming. The noise was familiar and comforting both,something that caused the girl to stir a bit, looking up towards the owner.

She felt tears started to come into her eyes once again when she realized that the brown haired woman holding her was her mother. She wanted to say something, anything really, to her mother, but the words refused to come out. It was like her tongue was glued to her mouth.

"It's alright sweetie, its OK to cry you know." The woman spoke with a soft tone "You can laugh, cry, smile, and even get angry at anything around you and still be strong after. Just don't lose your fire."

The words comforted her, but her memories of the day before was enough for the words to not fully sink in. A sad smile made its way onto the woman's face, a hand reaching towards her face, and gently cupping it "I might not be there any longer my sweet little girl, but remember, when someone tells you your to weak, or your not trying enough, that your flame will burn brighter than they could ever hope. Don't let them steel your heart to the world, and become a woman that will burn anyone who stands in your way."

Tears threatened to spill once more, but the girl refused to let them fall for the time being. She knew those words, and she wasn't sure if this was realy or not, but it was enough for her to hug the woman one last time, before she felt herself start to wake up. She didn't want this to end, but knew she was going to have to face the facts at some point.

Her thoughts still leading towards the unpleasant reality of not being able to see her family anymore, She forced herself to slowly wake up, eyes still closed. She had expected to be resting against stone, or some other hard surface considering that she hadn't seen anything that was soft to any degree in the 'room'. Instead, she found herself laying against something Warm,and slightly comforting. The feeling was like what she had felt from her dream. Unbidden, tears started to well up in her eyes once again. the only other person in the "room" that she could think of that would do this would be the old man from before. She didn't know why, but he was comforting her.

The hand on her head started to move, causing the girl to freeze, until the owner started to slowly moved his hand through her hair, trying to help calm her down "it's alright, I promise you. You are not alone in this hell."

Looking up towards the owner, she found the old man from before looking down at her with a smile. The soft smile was enough for her thoughts to force her to remember yesterday, something that caused tears to start to spill from her eyes. She felt so useless crying her eyes out like this, but she forced the apology out of her throat. Instead of replying though, he continued to comfort her, knowing that she would need the support now due to how hard the day was going to be.

It took her a good ten minutes to calm down after she had started to cry, but that was more than enough time for the old man to look out of the small opening they had to see the sky and take note of the time of day. As on cue, the door to their cell opened, causing several of the other people to flinch at the noise, and the small girl to look towards the opening, her eyes flashing with rage at the sight.

A hand touched her shoulder, seeing the old man standing behind her, a small shake of his head being enough to tell her that she shouldn't attack. She didn't like it, but this old man knew what was going on here better then she did, so she listened. Even then she still glared at the man in front of her, before following after the rest of the people that were leaving the cell, the old man following after her as well.

She hadn't been able to get a look at where she was before after everything that had happened yesterday, especially with the man's 'Punishment' towards her, but now she could see that she was inside of a tower. Thousands of people were all walking in the same direction, all of them with things around their wrists that had a red orb on it. The red orb had some sort of thing connecting it to something floating overhead, but that was only for certain people as well. The lines of people that went along only had a few that were not tethered, but those people looked like all hope had left them.

Fury went through her system once more at the thought, but she remembered the old man telling her not to attack them. She wasn't really sure why, but she was going to listen to the old man for now.

Down they went. Further and further down the line of people went, until certain groups were separated from the others. Her group kept going down even further, until they were brought outside, being forced to work right away. She could see dozens of people, all of them moving rubble around, trying to clear it for some purpose or another, something that she saw the old man moving to do as well.

A frown made its way onto the girl's face as she stood where she was, looking around, only for her to cry out when she felt something hit her in the back, followed by a yell "Get moving you ungrateful brat!"

Turning towards the man, the silver eyes girl looked like she wanted to attack the man, only for the old man's voice to reach her once more "Girl, come over here. I'll help you get started."

She looked like she wanted to argue, but seeing the looks for fear from several other people around her, she went over to the old man, anger never fading from her gaze, even as flecks of gold seemed to take over her eyes for a brief moment, something no one noticed. Standing beside the old man, she started to do what he was doing by moving things around, something that caused the guard from before to let out a scuff of disappointment, before he left.

"...Why do you not do anything." The girl let out, her first words to the old man, being that which many had questioned before.

A kind smile made its way onto the man's face as he spoke, never stopping the task in front of him "Because I don't want others to be hurt because I did something stupid. These men, they care little for any of us, and if even one of us steps out of line, then they will not hesitate to kill others around us as well as us. Do you wish to cause pain to others?"

"No!" The girl growled out, her silver eyes seemingly igniting with a fire that wouldn't die "I'd never want anyone to get hurt because of me!"

A chuckle left the old man, his work never stopping, the girl's pace being similar to his own "There, you see why I do nothing. This place may be hell, but so long as there are people around me, I will not allow others to come into harm."

The girl faltered in her pace for a brief, second, not long enough for the slavers to deal out a punishment, but it was enough for the old man to see that his words affected the girl in front of him. The anger that surrounded her since she had arrived started to disappear, even if only for a small amount of time, something that caused his heart to feel lighter. A girl as young as her should never have to deal with such anger.

Silence took over any other words that would have been said between the two. The small silver eyed girl continuing her work, even as her form showed that she was thinking deeply, something that caused her to have to be pushed by the old man at times for when they went to a new area to work. It had worried the old man more than once, as he wasn't sure what was going through the girls mind when he moved her from place to place, allowing her to think while she worked.

**Heart of fire**

The old man's words echoed through her head more and more as she thought over what she had been told, more and more. He willingly went through all of the pain, and anguish that this whole thing brought him, to protect people that he didn't know? It wasn't something she could understand. Even as she went back and thought things over for a long time, she still couldn't understand it. Her parents had always told her stories of people that would protect others even if they didn't know them, but she had always thought that it was impossible to find someone like that in real life.

She ended up being so lost in her thoughts, that she didn't notice what was going on, until she had accidentally bumped into one of the men that had brought her here in the first place. Backing up a few steps, the girl looked up towards the man that she had ran into, only to bring her hands up quickly when she saw the man lash out at her.

The force of the hit was more than enough for her to cry out from the pain, the man letting out a 'tch' noise "Trying to sneak up on me and attack were you brat?!"

Getting up to her feet, the girl looked towards the man with anger in her eyes, but taking a deep breath, the girl bowed slightly "I'm sorry for running into you."

Surprised flashed through the guys expression, his body turning to face her, as she continued onward, completely ignoring him after that, something that had caused more than a few people to stare at her as well, guards and slaves alike. The only other person who had actually apologized to them before was that old man with the guild mark on his back.

Snapping out of his stupor, the man let out a growl, before yelling "Get in your cells, all of you! Quit your gawking!"

That was enough to get everyone moving again, though a few eyes still lingered on the back of the brown haired girl that was walking away. One pair in particular was looking at her with a pair of happiness, even as he followed the girl back into the cell that they shared. He would talk to her once she was ready to talk, and not before, but he was happy that she was at least thinking over what he said enough for to not try and attack the man who just hit her.

Shaking his head at those thoughts for the time being, he sat down in the back of the cell that he shared with the girl, his head turning towards the opening that was in the wall again, seeing the sun set at the moment.

"I still don't understand." The girl's voice broke through the silence causing the old man to look towards her with considering look at her confused one "No one else would do the same for you, but your willing to let yourself get hurt to protect someone else. Why?"

Smiling towards the girl, the old man, patted the ground near him, prompting the girl to sit. She seemed hesitant to do so, but after a few seconds she did anyway, something that caused a smile to appear on his face "It's fine that you don't understand. I'm just happy that your not so angry anymore."

"I still want to know why though!" Her voice sounded out, the frustration in her voice evident.

Humming at the girl, the man smiled down towards her as he spoke "Well, the way I see it, the world is a big place, and there are so many people that would do whatever they could to make sure they stay safe, and not hurt, but what about the people that deliberately hurt others? They force people to choose whether they hurt you, or someone else. So I choose to let them hurt me, so no one else has to suffer."

"But they wouldn't do the same for you." The girl spoke with a confused, and slightly angry tone "They'd let you get hurt so they wouldn't, but if you were the one in trouble, they wouldn't do the same."

"Of course. That's expected of them because they don't have the will to fight back. But people like me, we do what we can to protect others, despite the fact that we know were going to get hurt. But that's what it means to be a hero after all." The man spoke with a soft chuckle, getting a wide eyed look from the girl "Hm… But I suppose that I can't force you to be a hero like me. It takes a lot of work to be a hero you know."

The girl's wide eyes grew wider as she looked at the old man with a look that could only be her starting to see him as a role model "Your a hero?! Prove it!"

Letting a chuckle leave him, the old man brought a palm up, and had a bit of light appear in said palm "I suppose the term wizard would be more accurate, but not just anyone can do something like this can they?"

Wide eyes stared at the orb of magic that appeared in the man's hand, the girl moving all around the old man to see the orb from all angles. This continued for a few more seconds, before she tried to poke it, only for it to disappear. A squeak left the girl in surprise at the sudden disappearance, before she looked towards the old man seeing him chuckle.

"That was cool! How did you did you do that?! I wanna do that!" The girl's voice steadily got more and more excited as she looked at the old man "Can hero's do stuff like that, or those wizard thingys you said too?! I wanna be a hero then too!"

Shaking his head at the girl, despite the joy that he was seeing at making the girl act so childish, he spoke once more"It's not enough to want to be a hero you know! You have to be very kind towards everyone you meet, and you have to make sure you protect everyone from the bad people that want to hurt them. Do you think someone like you could do that?"

"W-well…" The girl mumbled with a slightly downtrodden expression, that quickly turned into depression "No… I almost hurt people because I kept being angry."

"That's alright." The old man spoke with a soft look, his hand landing on her head once more , ruffling the brown locks "Your tried to change that when you bumped into that man earlier before we had to go back in here. That means that your trying to make up for it."

Looking up towards the man with a wide eyed look, the silver eyed girl let a wide grin appear on her face "Yeah! I'll become a hero, and save all the people that need help in the world!"

"Well, there is one more thing that you would need to be a hero you know. And that's your superpower!" The old man spoke with a chuckle, causing the girl to look at him once again with wide eyes "I have your attention then? Good."

Bouncing on her butt a bit, the girl looked at the man with wonder filled eyes "Ne, Jiji, what do you mean super powers?"

"Well, I mean Magic of course!" The old man spoke with a smile "You see, Magic is something that anyone can have, but not everyone can use. It's something you have to believe in with all your heart. Yes, everything begins from you believing with your heart. You can think of tarots, faith, prayer, and such as Magic. It's a miracle that only true believers can experience. Only those who believe that Magic exists, believe in themselves, and believe that they can coexist with everything in nature can use such a thing as Magic. Do you feel up to the task?"

The girl gave a wide grin towards the old man, as she nodded rapidly "Of course Jiji! I'll be the best mage ever and save a bunch of people, becoming a hero!"

"I look forward to seeing how that goes." The old man gave another smile, before he said something else "Oh, I realize that we never introduced ourselves to each other. My name is Rob. It's a nice to meet you."

"W-well, my name is Samantha. Just Samantha. It's nice to meet you to!" The girl joyful said, her smile widening as she looked towards the old man who had helped her today.

A smile appeared on Rob's face as he set a hand on the girls head once more, knowing that even if the situation in this place was terrible, he would be able to keep the girl smiling.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we are with chapter 2! Gotta admit I kinda pushed myself to get to this point with the story since the childhood stuff pre-magic is just something that I can't get into as well as the rest of it. Chapters after the next one will honestly take less work then this one, and the next one, but I won't say much more.
> 
> One last note, I decided to try and do something that I had seen from 'Child of Heaven' at the beginning of this chapter, so tell me if I should try and keep doing this or not if you would please!

**Chapter cover** : _Samantha and rob are dressed in Monk robes, the small robs to big for the girl, while she's greets Erza and Jellal with a smile, Rob holding in his laughter to the side._

The working conditions of the tower were a lot tougher then she had originally thought, but Samantha toughed through it considering the fact that Rob was always someone that kept her smiling once the days work was done. The old man had done more than just keep her from lashing out at any of the guards that would, more often than not, goad her. He also was there for her when she had received injuries from protecting other children that were working. Only 9 years old, and she was already trying to be a hero.

Not once had the girl given up hope that she could escape one day, however much the cultists, as Rob had called them, tried. She proved time and again that she was more stubborn than any of them, as she continued to work without speaking a word to them. It had led to more then one instance of them lashing out at her, trying their best to get the girl to retaliate, but nothing they did worked. It left them even more frustrated afterwards, but it did leave more than a few nasty bruises on Samantha in the process.

A wince left the brown haired girl as she tried her best to ignore the feeling she had with one of her legs, only for her to be forced to focus on it when a guard lashed out at her legs, the crack of a wooden staff causing more than a few people to look over in their direction.

"Look at me when I speak to you, your wretched little brat!" The man who had hit her shouted at the top of his lungs, causing more than a few of the other slaves to send worried looks around them "You think your so high and mighty that you can just ignore us when we talk to you?! I'll show you some respect."

Samantha let another yell of pain out when she heard a faint whining noise, which was followed by the cuffs on her hands lighting up with electricity. The painful charge last for only a few seconds, but it was more than enough for the breath to leave her. Despite this though, Samantha, struggling as she was, got back up and continued to work like nothing had happened.

The 'guard' looked like he was about to scream at the girl once again, or do something to make her to react, but a hand grabbed his shoulder before he could. Looking towards the owner, the cultist let out a 'Che' before he turned towards watching over more guards, the man who grabbed his shoulder being another cultist. The unspoken message between the two had left more than a few of the slaves worried, but they ignored it in favor of continuing their work.

Samantha herself, let out a shaky breath as she continued on with what she was doing, grabbing rubble and setting it into a minecart. Another wince left her when she felt that her legs was trying to give out on her, but she refused the urge, and continued to push herself.

The pain of the injury continued to nag at her in the back of her mind, but she ignored if in favor of continuing to work.. More and more the pain was starting to get to her, but she ignored it in favor of trying to make sure that she got through the day. She knew that Rob was going to be upset with her for not trying to slow down while working after this, but she had a stubborn streak that was worse than anyone from fairy tail, at least as far as Rob was concerned. That was both a good and a bad thing as it turned out.

Heart of fire.

Rob let out a sigh as he put his hands around the girls ankle. There was no doubt in his mind that it was broken now that he got a good feel of it. Of course the unshed tears in Samantha's eyes did little to help hid the fact that she was in a lot of pain. To make matters worse, of course, was the fact that she had been walking on it, trying to ignore the pain the whole day. No doubt it had been broken when that Cultist had hit her in the leg.

A sigh left Rob as his magic started to heal the girls leg "You are way to stubborn you must know. Most people would have collapsed from the pain of a broken leg a long time before they managed to get here again."

"W-well it's, good that I d-didn't!" The small girl spoke, a wince here and there breaking her words, the tears in her eyes still being held back "I-If I stopped, t-then someone e-else might have b-been h-hurt!"

Another sigh left the old man, his fingers purposely digging into her ankle only slightly, causing her to let out a yelp, the tears in her eyes finally starting to fall as a result "Samantha, if your injuries get to this point, then there is no point in trying to protect anyone. How can you help anyone, if you yourself are injured?"

Looking off to the side, the tears of pain did little to hide the pout that the girl had. Rob shook his head once more as he continued to heal the girls foot. Honestly, part of his was tempted to not heal it as a lesson to the girl, but that was quickly forced out of his mind when he remembered what the Cultists would do if they found that she was slaking in her work. No matter how much she needed a lesson taught to her, there was no point if it lead to more injuries then she already had.

Taking a few more seconds to use his magic to heal the girl, the Old man let out a tired exhale once he finished healing the girls leg. Taking his hands away, he allowed her to take her foot back as well, but not before he spoke once more "Now, remember what I said. There's no point in getting hurt like that. Not to mention i'm getting up in years you know."

"Your ancient Jiji!" Samantha giggled, causing the old man to frown in mock disappointment. Her giggling was quickly cut off, however, when said old man picked Samantha up, causing her to laugh as a result.

Giving a hum towards the girl, even as he held her above him, Rob gave a smirk "Ancient am I? I wonder then what you are? So little, you must be a Chibi! Someone forever to run under and around the feet of those that are older than you!"

"Nu-uh! I'm gonna bit taller then you when I grow up!" The girl spoke with a bit of a giggle as well "I'll be so tall that everyone will have to look up to see me! I'll touch the sky, and then you'll ride on my shoulders!"

Giving a grin towards the girl, even as he set her upon his shoulders during her declaration, Rob nodded "I look forward to seeing it then. I'm sure you'll be a great hero as well! Dispensing Justice to those who deserve it."

"Ne Rob-jichan. What does 'Justice' mean anyway?" Samantha asked while resting her head on Rob's own, tilting it slightly as well.

Looking up towards the girl, without moving his head of course, he chuckled "Well, Justice means that you want everyone to be treated fairly, even it means that they must be punished for doing something bad."

"Even the mean Cult-guys?" Her voice sounded out, confused.

Nodding, Rob look towards the night sky as he spoke "Even them. I know that you don't like them Samantha-chan, but everyone deserves to be treated fairly. Meaning, if you wanted the mean cult-guys to be treated fairly, you'd have them arrested and be sent to jail as punishment for the bad things they did."

He didn't receive a response from the girl, at least not right away, something that had confused him, at least until he heard the girl yawn before talking "Alright… I'll beat up all the bad guys and have them punished by going to to jail. Wanna be a true hero…"

Slowly but surely the girl ended up falling asleep on top of Rob, something that caused him to shake his head slightly, but only just, as to not jostle the girl. He was glad that the girl was taking to his lessons on morality well, he had been very worried that she was going down the path of a dark wizard if she had so much anger in her form still by the time she got out of this place.

Setting the girl gently down on the little bit of straw that had been available, the old man let a sigh leave him, his mind going towards how to get the children out in the first place. He knew that even weak, he would be able to fight against the mages that this place had, but not while also protecting the children and other people that would need the help as well. That really was the only reason that he hadn't broken out of here in the first place. If he managed to break out, there was no telling what the Cultists would do to anyone else that was still here. It was only cemented when he realized that children were here as well.

Letting his eyes close for the time being, Rob knew that tomorrow was to bring more slaves in, and that was never something he enjoyed seeing. More often than not, the adults were killed, leaving just the children. Years had passed with him hoping that someone, somewhere would find this island, but those same years had brought nothing but disappointment. Now, his only wish was for the children on this very same island to survive.

Heart of fire.

THe day would have started just like any other day, if not for the fact that Samantha had heard that the salvers were going to be bringing in more people soon. It was something that made her blood boil, but she knew better then to attack them, or else the fighting she would cause could end up with hundreds killed. The less people that die her, the less people that these monsters would need to take in return.

Sure enough the men in the black cloaks ended up bringing in more than a couple people, though she was probably just as sad as Rob about the fact that they were kids her age or younger. Even as they were pushed into the cell, Samantha saw the anger that appeared in the blue haired boy's eyes, something that caused her to frown for a second, before turning her attention towards Rob.

"Rob-jichan… Can I go over to them, or should you go first?" The young girl asked with a slight frown.

Looking down towards the girl, the old man gave a small smile before motioning with his hand "Your their age, maybe you'll be able to make them more comfortable Sam."

A nod was the only indicator that she gave that she had heard him, before she slowly walked over towards them. The blue haired boy was the first to take note of her walking towards them, his form tensing up. It didn't take him long to stand in front of the other children as well as another bigger black haired boy. Despite the hostile looks, Samantha gave what had to have looked like a lazy smile, her hand coming up to wave slightly, a wince leaving her from the injuries she received today.

"I know this isn't a nice place, but that doesn't mean we can't try and help each other." Her voice spoke out, causing the younger children to look past the two bigger boys.

The black haired boy seemed to relax slightly, but the blue haired boy stood straighter, his eyes glaring at Sam "How do we know your not lying? What is this place?!"

"This is the tower." Rob's voice broke through the air, causing the children to look towards him "There is no proper name for this tower, but we have been brought here to work, to finish the tower."

A sad smile made its way onto Sam's face, her silver eyes seeming to glow slightly, as she looked towards them "I'm sorry that you were brought here, but i'll do what I can to help you!"

The children behind the two boys started to cry once more, while the black haired boy seemed to be shaking, whether from unshed tears or some other reason, Samantha couldn't be sure, but the blue haired boys expression, one that she had seen many times from the broken slaves, was something that caused the brown haired girl to walk up to him. Setting a gentle hand on his shoulder to gain his attention, the girl gave a smile before pulling him into a hug.

Right away she could feel the tears that started to soak into her shirt, something that caused her to grip harder, even as she spoke into his shoulder "It's alright, trust me. I promise you i'll do whatever I can to help you, and someday we will have are freedom."

The tears that were going into her shoulder increased more after that, something that caused Samantha to look at the ground with a sad smile. Her eyes snapped up quickly, however, when she remembered the crying kids behind the two boys. Giving a soft smile in their direction, the brunette detached herself from the blue haired boy for a second, before looking towards Rob "Ne! Rob-Jichan, can you tell them one of your stories? I think it would cheer the them right up!"

"Oh? When did you get so demanding of this old man Sam? I swear you used to be so cute when you were smaller, but now your spoiled rotten…" The old man spoke with a sigh, turning his head.

The girl gave an annoyed growl at the old man as she spoke loudly "Rob! Don't make me sound like a spoiled brat in front of them! I want them to like me!"

"I'm just teasing you and you know it!" The Rob laugh, his smile showing that he was happy at the moment, the children had stopped crying after all "Now why don't all of gather around, while I tell you about the story of the Midget known as Makarov, and his adventures!"

Sitting down with the group anyone despite having heard this story a few times, the girl paused when she took notice of the blue haired boy that was sitting next to her, his expression, still subdued, but she could see that he had gained some life back. Giving a grin towards him, she held out her hand, causing the boy's eyes to widen in surprise, even as she spoke "I'm Samantha! You can call me sam though, it's nice to meet you!"

Look towards the hand, the boy slowly grasped it, his voice coming it weakly a few seconds later "Jellal…"

The grin on the girls face grew more after that, something about the boy causing her to be more happy than normal. Quickly turning towards Rob as his story started, Sam was smiling wildly as she realized the fact that she had gotten more friends. It wasn't something that she had expected with this new batch coming in, as much as she hated thinking like that. The rest of the times the cultists had brought in more adults to work since the older ones died. It still made her shiver thinking about them.

Ignoring those thoughts, her eyes trailed over towards the blue haired boy once more, the giddiness she felt growing once more, before her attention turned towards Rob once more. The warmth she felt was something that she honestly had no clue as to what it was.

She'd figure it out later.

**Heart of fire.**

It had been another few months before they had ended up bringing more people to the tower, something that had ended up worrying both Rob and Samantha, being the ones longest in the cell that they had. She wasn't certain what had happened, but from the anger that the other cultists had displayed over the past few weeks, it had to have been something that none of the men had liked in any sense of the matter.

But with the newest group, only a single person had been introduced into their cell. A redheaded girl with brown eyes. To say that same was captivated by the red locks would have been an understatement considering how she had stared at them. She had quickly knocked herself out of staring at the girl, however, when she saw that Jellal had walked up the girl and started talking to her. Some sort of heat ended up in the girls chest at the sight, but she quickly squashed the feeling, as she walked up to the two.

"Jellal! Whos this?" Sam ended asking when she was standing in front of them, the feeling ended up returning again, but once again she squashed it down and ignored it. Whatever that feeling was, she didn't like it.

The blue haired boy looked towards Samantha with a small smile, before motioning towards the redhead, who was sending a curious look towards sam "This is Erza. Since I saw you busy with Sho and Millianna, I wanted to make sure that she knew that this was somewhere safe, even if the tower itself isn't."

"I see." Sam spoke with a smile slowly creeping up her lips, as she looked towards the redhead, a smile on her face similar to the one she showed Jellal at first taking its place 'Well it's nice to meet you Erza…"

The redhead seemed to know what was being asked, as she looked down with a sad smile "My name is Erza… Just Erza."

"Hey! You can't be just Erza!" The voice of Wally, one of the other children, sounded out "Like, I'm Wally Buchanan!"

A laugh left Jellal as he looked towards wally "Your names a mouthful Wally."

"Like yours is any better?!" The boy laughed, his grin causing a small smile to appear on Erza's face as well "Jellal Fernandes, what the heck kind of name is that!"

The two boys looked as if they were going to bicker more, if not the light laugh that escaped Erza. A smile made its way onto Samantha's face, before she made a noise of realization "Hey! I've got it! Why don't you have your last name be Scarlet?!"

"Scarlet…?" Erza asked hesitantly, her voice showing her confusion, something that a few others shared.

Giving a nod with a bright smile, the silver eyes girl spoke "The first thing I noticed about you was your hair! I figured, why don't you have your last name be the same as your hair, that way you won't forget it!"

Samantha honestly thought it was a good idea, and it was also something that had honestly meant that no one would forget her name either. Seeing the looks she was receiving though, her smile slowly shrunk before she was standing there shifting her feet for a second. The stares were ones that she couldn't read, something that was about to have her apologize, until a soft hum left Erza.

"Scarlet…" The girl spoke softly, playing with a few strands of her hair for a second, before looking up towards Samantha with a smile "Erza Scarlet… It has a nice sound doesn't it…?"

The sound of Rob chuckling as he brought Millianna and show towards the group, showed that he had heard the conversation "It's nice to see all of you getting along. But Sam, Aren't you forgetting something?"

The brown haired girl looked towards the older man with a confused look, before she let out a noise of understanding, quickly turning on her heel and looking towards Erza "Sorry about that, My name's Samantha Rutledge, it's nice to meet you!"

The grin that appeared in response was that everyone was happy to see.

**Heart of fire.**

It had been a few weeks since Erza had ended up coming to the tower, Samantha still ignoring that Weird burning feeling when she saw Jellal helping Erza, but inadvertently it had caused the girl to start treating Erza a bit harsher then she did the others. No one really took notice expect for Simon, another boy that had arrived the same day as Erza did. Simon was a skinny boy, about the same size as wally at the moment, and he was really nice.

Simon had actually been the one to confront her and talk to her about it, something that she hadn't expected, and at the same time made her realize something. She actually felt Jealous of Erza for some reason, something that Rob wouldn't talk to her about. She didn't like the feeling though. A smile made its way onto her afe though when she realized that.

"Thank you for helping me figure out what that weird feeling I had was Simon." The girl spoke with a soft tone, her voice conveying that she was, indeed happy.

The black haired boy had smiled back before going back to whatever it was he had been doing, something she couldn't remember. All that she knew was that she had been acting like a Jerk towards Erza unintentionally, and she wanted to fix that. With that in mind, she headed over towards the redhead, an apology on her lips, but she never got to say it.

"Hey Sam… Do you like Jellal?" The redhead had asked once Sam was in range of her.

The brunette paused for a second to register what had been said to her, before her whole face burst into a bright red color, her eyes wide "W-w-what kind of question is that?!"

"I just was curious." The redhead spoke with a oblivious tone "The two of you seem close, and you make sure that Sho and Millianna don't cry all that much, while he helps with other things. I'm kind of Jealous about how close you to are actually…"

The apology from before completely forgotten, the silver eyed girl sat across from Erza, a few feet between them as she spoke again "But Sho and Millianna like you better than me. I think it's my eyes honestly..."

"Your eyes are pretty though." Erza shot back, the red heads brown eyes filled with mirth as they talked "Their like stars with how bright they are sometimes."

A hum left the brunette, the girl falling onto her back to look out of the only hole that was in the cell they were to see stars outside "Stars eh…? Hey Erza… once we get out of here, why don't you come stargazing with me someday? Cloud watching could be fun too…"

Giggling left the redhead causing Samantha to look towards her, the genuine smile on the redheads face showing how sincere her words were when she said "I'd love to. Stargazing with a future hero would be nice."

The blush that grew on Sam's face after that statement, was enough for her to turn her head to the side with a huff, causing the redhead to laugh once again, and gain the attention of others in the room. It didn't take long for Sam to join in on the laughing as well. Times like these were what kept everyone still strong in this hellish place. Sam was glad she managed to have friends like this, and she hoped that they would be able to stay together for awhile once they escaped as well.

It was a few days later that Sho found a hole in a wall, and an escape plan had been made, one that Sam would say she had wished hadn't happened, due to the cost being to high for the result.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you guys think this time? Like I said I wasn't to happy with how the chapter had turned out if i'm being honest, but that's for you guys to decide if i'm honest. This chapter was more to get a feel for Sam's relationships with the rest of the group, though Erza it seems was a bit obvious about Sam treating her a bit differently than the rest. Either way though, i'm happy this chapter is out, and I'll try and get the next one out within a week as well. So Till next time!
> 
> Please leave a Review if you would like, i'd love to hear your opinion!


	3. The price of freedom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I honestly got this chapter done quicker then I thought I would, and I'm happy to say that this chapter is more then twice the length of the last chapter! In fact, without any of the AN's on this, that would make this chapter at just over 7 thousand words, a new record for me! Now while I won't be going to this length again regularly, I will be trying to get my chapter length at or over 5,000 each time from here on out, so look forward to that!
> 
> Now moving on from that, I'll be honest and say that I didn't like the second half of this chapter. It felt a bitch rushed, but at the same time as I went over I couldn't think of any way to really make it better. I did what I was aiming for, and set up character development for Samantha, as well as Erza, in this chapter but I feel... Unsatisfied for some reason. I hope you guys like this chapter better then I do at the very least.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own fairy tail or any of its side stores, OVA's or anything related to the series. the only thing that is mine is Samantha and the magic that she uses.

**Chapter cover:**  Samantha and Erza sitting side by side at the beach, their backs facing the screen, looking out towards the ocean, a sword lying next to Erza, and a Spear lying next to Samantha.

The second that Sho had told them that there was a way out of the tower, Samantha was more than just a little worried. The boy was often one who didn't think things through all the way, and that was a big part of the reason that she was worried. She wanted her freedom just as much the rest of them, but would it be worth the risk of getting caught and punished? That was one thing that she was definitely worried about.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Samantha asked after a few seconds of Sho explaining where he found the hole in the wall, as well as where it led "I mean, I want out of here as much as anyone else, but what if we get caught?"

Erza was the first one to say anything "None of us want to stay here anymore so i'll take that risk."

The glare the redhead had sent towards Samantha was returned in full force, the two almost growling at each other. The relationship between the two had steadily gotten worse and worse over the months that Erza had been at the tower. No one knew why the two had ended up hating each other pretty much, but it was bad enough that Rob had to seperate the two more then once. Even now, the old man still wasn't sure why the two hated each other as well.

"What about Sho and Millianna?!" She asked in response waving a hand at the two in question, who were sending confused looks at the two "If we get caught, those two could end up getting the worst of it!"

Erza actually ended up growling at the brunette, her brown eyes flashing with anger "I won't let them get hurt, so don't throw this around like that! I'll protect them, like you clearly won't!"

Samantha's eyes widened in shock for a second, before she let out a growl of her own, her hands clenching. She looked like she would have said something, if not for Jellal's voice breaking through the two's argument "Knock it off you two! Your scaring the two of them."

Looking towards the children in question, Millianna and Sho both were, in fact, on the edge of tears. Sending a glare at each other once more, the two girls looked away with a growl, leaving the blue haired boy to sigh. Samantha looked towards the boy out of the corner of her eyes for a second, a sigh almost leaving the girl as guilt ate away at her. She wasn't sure how she had ended up getting into a 'relationship' with Erza like this, but she didn't like it.

Hell, she couldn't even remember what had sparked the first argument in the first place. The problem though was that when either of them want to try and apologize to the other, something always happened. A rock being in just the wrong place for Sam to push Erza, or the redhead tripping and sending Sam sprawling. Back and forth the accidents happened, sparking more arguments, something that honestly she was getting sick of.

Taking her thoughts off of that for the time being, She looked back towards Jellal as he spoke up again "Look, I know neither of you are going to agree on anything, so i'll just say it. This is the only chance we'll probably get, so we should take it while they don't know that it exists. Can you two agree on that at the very least?"

Looking over towards Erza the Samantha let out a sigh, before nodding. She wasn't going to say anything else, not for the time being at the very least, but she could agree with that. There was no way that she was going to let any of them get hurt, and that was what was going to happen if they got caught.

**Heart of Fire.**

_"Mama. Why are you having me learn how to speak this stuff?" Samantha spoke with a curious tone, the small girl kicking her legs back and forth while looking at her mother._

_A light laugh left the woman as she knelt down "Well, you look so much like your father's mother, that I want to have a little bit of influence on you. Why do you think I told you about having a Heart full of fire, but a soul of wind?"_

_"Cuz we need to have fire in our hearts to stay strong, and wind for our soul to make sure we don't burn to hot!" The girl spoke proudly, a few teeth missing making her smile look adorable to the woman._

_Giving a nod towards that, the woman ruffled Samantha's hair "Correct! I Heart of fire is needed to keep those close to us strong, as well as making sure we ourselves stay strong. The fire is something that those of my family have always kept close to them, but the Wind, that's the part that you have to keep as well. You see, the Wind is something that my family has always made sure to have as well as to make sure that our fire doesn't burn to hot. If we get too angry, then we could get people hurt instead. And we don't want that right?"_

_"Never hurt people!" Samantha recited with a firm nod, her expression as solemn as a little girl could manage._

_Another chuckle left the mother as she nodded back "Right on the money sweetie. Now how about we try that sentence again."_

_"G-goman'nisai, O-Oti-sama?" The small girl asked carefully, something that caused her to wine in disappointment when her mother shook her head._

_The woman pointed at the sentence once more, before saying "Say it with me Gomen."_

_"Gomen."_

_"Now Gomen'nasai."_

_"G-gomen. Nasai?"_

_"There you go! Now say it all together."_

_"Gomen'nasai!"_

_"Nicely done! Now for the rest of the sentence."_

A shoulder started to gently push Samantha awake, something that caused her to groan a bit due to the dream that she was having, but she woke up anyway. She could see that Erza was standing over her, a soft look, softer then she had seen in months, on the girls face. Sitting up, a part of her felt like glaring at the girl, but a yawn quickly caused that to not happen. She still wasn't completely happy with being woken up, but she knew why they were awake at the time they were.

"Are you alright Samantha?" Erza's voice broke the silence as the brunette was getting herself together for what was happening soon.

Surprise filtered its way onto Samantha's face for all of a second before suspicion took its place "Why are you asking?"

"You were mumbling something in your sleep." The redhead spoke, her tone showing that she wasn't being hostile for the time being "Oki-sen, I think is what you were saying."

The silver eyes girl froze for a second, her from shaking during that time, before she looked away from the redhead. Erza looked like she was about to say something about how rude she was being, until the girl said "It's Oka-san. The word is Oka-san… It means Mother…"

Silence stuck between the two for a few minutes, the weight of the words leaving an awkwardness between the two. Samantha because she wasn't sure what Erza was going to say about her dreaming about her mother. Erza, on the other hand, had felt bad about just blurting that out like it was nothing. The silence seemed to stay for a few more moments, until the groaning of the other kids that were a part of this sounded out.

"Don't say anything to the others about that word. Please." Samantha spoke, before getting up and walking towards the other kids without a word.

She wasn't certain if the redhead would actually listen to that or not, but she hoped that she at least tried to. There were only a few people that knew that she even knew a different language, and Rob was one of them. She really didn't want Erza to know as well if she was honest.

Taking her mind off of that for the time being, she started to help Millianna and Sho get up, while Jellal, Simon, and Erza were off near each other waiting. Bucky was on the other end of the room waiting as well, though there was a hint of eagerness in his expression as well. She still wasn't sure about this whole thing, but she wasn't about to back down from going with them.

Seeing that the two were up, she motioned for them to go over to wally, the three having stuck like glue to each other since they arrive, before joining the older kids "Everyone's up now. I hope this works…"

"Hey, have a little faith Sam." Jellal spoke, getting a sigh from the girl in response, but a nod in response showing that she would at the very least try.

Looking over towards Erza, she could see that the redhead still seemed to be thinking about something. She wasn't sure what it was, but Sam, at the very least, knew that if their fighting brought anything, it was a major confidence boost for the redhead. Still, there was just something about this situation that she didn't like. She knew the others would just call her paranoid though, and thus she didn't say anything no matter how much she wanted to.

**Heart of Fire.**

Getting out of the cell wasn't very hard if she was honest. Jellal, before he had gotten to the tower, had been a pickpocket and had gotten the Key before anyone had noticed. He seemed confident that the Cultist would think he had left the key somewhere after they went back to wherever they stayed on this island. Samantha wasn't so sure, but she was willing to believe in Jellal. Even still, she was starting to feel more and more uncomfortable with the situation.

Head perking up slightly at the sound of something, The silver eyed girl quickly grabbed Sho and Millianna while motioning towards the others, and hiding behind a bunch of rubble. It turned out her hunch in this case was right, as she saw one of the cultists walking by with one of the 'Dogs' with him. The beast let out a growl while sniffing the air, looking around a couple of times, before continuing forward.

A sigh left the girl, her hands letting go of the two, gently rubbing their backs, while looking towards the older kids "I didn't think they'd leave everything clear after all the escape attempts, but that was to close."

"Way to close." Wally spoke up, a nervous laugh leaving him at how close that had been.

"We need to get out of here quick then." Erza spoke up after a few seconds, causing everyone to get up.

Despite herself, Samantha let out a smile at the fact that Erza was confident enough to speak up and get everyone moving. If anything had been gained from the fighting between the two, then it definitely had to have been the Confidence boost.

Shaking her head to get rid those thoughts for the time being, she followed after them, her eyes canning the area around them. She didn't want to get caught off guard again like that, even if it was silent at the moment. The whole tower was eerie at the moment with how quiet it was. No one in the group was used to it being this quiet, at least not outside of their cells. The scaffolding was bare of people. Unlike how it usually was, no sounds of pickaxes hitting stone, or people pulling along things that were needed for building the tower. It was almost like the place was deserted.

Eventually they did find the hole in question that Sho had found, the boxes that were in front of them being larger than the normal ones, meaning that either held food supplies, or were for getting rid of rocks and other things that weren't needed in the first place. A sigh left the girl as she saw Jellal and Simon start to move the boxes, the two boys being stronger than anyone else there physically. It was Ironic to think about, how the Cultists working them so hard had caused them to get stronger like they were.

The sound of something hitting the stone caught Samantha's attention, causing her to turn, only to have a boot collide with her stomach, sending her flying into the group of children. A cry of surprise echoed between of all of the children, but Surprisingly it was Erza who had caught the Brunette. The redhead looked towards the one who had kicked the girl, only to falter when she saw that there were close to 10 of the Cultists in front of them, those who could use magic mixed in with them.

"Did you really think you could escape that easily?!" A particularly fat Cultist growled out, a whip in his hands at the ready, only for a skinnier one to stop him from attacking.

The skinny man looked at the children with contempt, Samantha struggling to even get out of Erza's hold at the moment "We'd be up the creek if the development were delayed in any way you know… On principle alone I should toss you little bastards into the disciplinary chamber, but i'll just settle for one of you today. All you have to do is let me know which one of you was the mastermind behind this."

Silence took over the children, Sho and Millianna both having started to cry wildly at the sight of the cultists, and the blonde boy crying even harder when he heard what the Cultist had said. Samantha, while still struggling to get up, tried to speak, almost at the same time as Erza. The two girls wanting to take the blame for this to protect the others, but Jellal had quickly stood up.

"It was me." The boy spoke, his expression extremely serious as he took the blame "I Planned it, and ordered the rest of them around."

A growl left Samantha as she forced herself up "I'm… not going to-"

She couldn't finish her sentence as the orbs on her cuffs started to glow. She had barely enough time to widen her eyes before a scream of pain left her, electricity going through her form as a result. The current didn't stop for a for what felt like minutes to the rest of the children, before it stopped suddenly. Despite this though, Samantha was still standing, or at least that's what the children thought.

"Ho? She's still standing even though she's unconscious?" The skinny man spoke with interest, before he simply scoffed and kicked the girl backwards, right into Erza's arms, her eyes wide as she saw that what the man said was true "Hm, back to the matter at hand You say it was you?"

Jellal's eyes hardened, as he spoke up "Yes it was me. I forced everyone else to go along with my plan."

"Hmm…" The man's eyes trailed over the form of the children in the back, before settling on Erza, who was still cradling the head of Samantha, the burns on the brunette leaving him with a smirk, even as he leaned forward looking straight at the redhead "It was this girl wasn't it?"

Everything seemed to freeze at that declaration, long enough for one of the other men to take Erza out of the group, and start to drag her away. Jellal started to yell at them that it was him instead of her, even as Simon cradled Samantha's head, the burns on her from being enough to cause the boy start shaking with repressed tears.

"Its ok Jellal…" Erza' voice managed to trail over towards them, a smile on her face, as shaky as it was "I'll be brave like Samantha so you won't have to worry about me."

That was the last thing that the girl managed to get out before she disappeared around a corner. That was also the last thing they had seen before they were all dragged back to their cells, Jellal screaming to the point that they actually had to knock him out to get him to stop thrashing. Not once during the whole thing did Samantha move either.

**Heart of Fire.**

**[Play: "A hero will rise" By Future World Music.]**

A part of her questioned why she had said that she would be strong like Sam, but another part of her knew as well. She knew why the arguments between the two had started, and why she had smiled like that before getting dragged off. She Just didn't want to admit it. As much confidence as Erza had gained from constantly getting into fights with Samantha, that didn't change the fact that she was jealous. She was jealous of how Jellal looked at Sam, of how the two acted, even when someone else was with them.

So she took this punishment with a smile on her face, and a promise to be strong like Samantha always did when she took someone else's punishment. Just that thought alone was enough for Erza to have tears leave her. Here she was, taking the place of Sam for once, the same girl that she fought with regularly. The same girl that had taken Erza's own punishments multiple times, and she still couldn't let go of petty grudges only because of Jealousy?! It was enough to make her whole form slump in shame, even as they tied her wrists so that she hanged in front of the leader of the cult.

The shame quickly disappeared when she looked the man in the eye, a glare taking over her face. The man in question let out a laugh, a smirk on his face "Oh, that's adorable really. You think you're intimidating like you are right now? If anything, you're like a drowned kitten, shivering and afraid of everything."

Not a word left Erza's lips, her eyes still set into a glare at the man in front of her. She refused to show weakness to this man. She wasn't the one who deserved this punishment, but she would be damned if she didn't hold fast and take it. It didn't matter if Samantha was someone who would do the same in the same situation. It didn't matter that she had tried to do the same, only to be electrocuted. She was going to take this punishment, with a fire in her heart, just like Samantha always told all of them.

_"My family had always told me to live with a Fire in your heart, and with Wind as your soul." Samantha told Sho and Millianna the first day that they had arrived, the same day as Erza had._

_Sho, ever the one to learn new things, excitedly asked "What does that mean big sis?!"_

_"Well, Sho, having a fire in your heart, at least to my family, means to stand up for what you believe in, and protect those you care about, like you two." An emphasis on the word 'two' was said by her hitting Sho's nose with her finger, getting a laugh from the boy "But having Wind as your soul, means to temper your anger, and keep it from hurting those you care about. Just know that your Ne- your big sister's, both of them, will always protect you."_

_A wink was sent Erza's way after that comment, something that caused the redhead to smile before grabbing the two into a big hug, getting squeals of delight from the two children._

Erza was brought out of her thoughts by the man hitting her in the stomach with a staff, getting a gasp of pain from the redhead in the process "The strong and silent type is it? That'll change soon enough I bet!"

Another hit connected with the young girl, getting another gasp of pain, but she never let out anything else, refusing to scream for the man in front of her. He continued with this a few more times, before he eventually let out a growl of frustration, and walked away from the girl a few feet. One of the other men let out a yell of surprise, that was quickly silenced, as the man that had been 'Punishing' the girl walked back over towards her, his expression in an ugly sneer.

"That look in your eyes is pissing me off little girl! So why don't I change that?" The sneer on his face turned into a malevolent smile as he brought a knife up to the girls face, letting the blade reflect her own right eye back, getting a wide eyed look from the girl.

Silence took over the room for a few seconds, no one in the room, or outside of it for that matter, making a single noise the whole while. That silence was shattered when a blood curdling scream echoed through the tower, coming from the room that Erza had been in. More than a few of the cultists looked towards the direction the scream had came from with pale complexions, enough of them understanding what happened to make them queasy.

**Heart of Fire.**

"Grandpa Rob! Is Big sis going to be alright?!" Sho was the first one to speak after everyone had been silent for a long time.

After the group had been brought back to their cell from being caught, Jellal had attack the cultist that had escorted them. He barely gave enough time to ask them to stay, before rushing off. Rob had simply sighed, letting the boy do whatever he was doing, before he started to try and heal Samantha. He had been worried that the children would get hurt, but to have Samantha take that much electricity, trying to protect the others? He never would have guessed she would go that far.

The old man looked over towards the blonde haired boy, seeing that the rest of the children were hoping for a good answer just as well as he was, before letting out sigh "I don't know. She took what had to have been thousands of volts of electricity, while also gaining burns as a result. I'm not sure if she's even going to wake up tonight."

Silence took over once more, as the weight of Rob's words hit the children. He wished that he could say that everything would be alright, and that nothing bad was going to happen, but truly, he couldn't. The children deserved the truth this time around, even if that truth wasn't something that they would like. Closing his eyes for the time being, Rob turned his attention back towards Samantha, what little magic he did have continuing to heal the girl.

Rob quickly cut off his magic, however, when he started to hear footsteps heading towards them. Looking up towards the source, Rob's eyes widened slightly seeing the red haired girl that most of the children had worried about for hours on end. She was covered in bruises, bandages covering her arms as well as her legs. But the one thing that caused more than a little shock to everyone was the eyepatch covering her right eye.

"S-so you were ok Big sis?" Sho's voice hesitantly asked.

That quickly turned into a wince when Milliannas voice yelled "Does she look ok you idiot?!"

"What about Jellal?" Wally, asked, his voice showing he was hesitant to do so, but needed to know "He said he was going to get past those guys and save you…"

Not one sound left the redhead, as she continued to shuffle into the room. Simon was the next one to try and say something to try and get the redhead to say something, but a hand from Rob stopped him "Let the girl rest. There's no doubt that she suffered a lot in that chamber."

Continuing to shuffle in, Erza eventually just collapsed to her knees, the toll of all the injuries she received, before and after she lost her eye, finally sending her down. The sheer exhaustion she must have felt seemed to collapse on her as well, making her seem like an empty shell just sitting there on the ground. The sight was more than enough to cause Sho to start to sob once more, the blonde boy, with nothing to stop him, Crying loudly, loud enough that it echoed through the tower even.

That proved to not be a good thing when a couple of the cultists stormed into the cell, yelling at the blonde boy. Rob was about to go to the boy, to at least try and get him to calm down, but movement from his left caught his attention, the old man's eyes widening at the sight. He barely had time to register the fact that Erza looked like she was about to attack the two men, before Samantha had already ripped the spear out of one of their hands, and sent them flying backwards, out of the cell.

"Sorry if you wanted to do that Erza…" The brown haired girl spoke, her silver eyes shining with something that Rob had seen all to often when he was still active in his old guild, even as she turned towards Sho "See Sho? What did I tell you. Your big sisters will always protect you."

Looking at the girl that has saved him from getting hurt, was enough for Sho to start crying again, but the big grin on his face showed that it was tears of Happiness instead of anguish. Giving another smile towards the boy, Samantha turned her attention towards Erza "Your turn. I know you have something to say."

The redhead looked at Sam with a surprised expression, before nodding firmly, turning her attention towards the others in the cell "We won't gain our freedom by Running away or listening to them! We need to stand up and fight! STAND UP FOR YOUR FREEDOM!"

Erza's voice echoed through the all of the cell's in the area. It took barely a second before more yells of surprised horror echoed back, as Slaves from every cell started to fight back, attacking any of the cultists that were near them. The sound was something that caused a smile to appear on Samantha's face, the smile quickly turned into a malevolent look, a she dashed past Erza, the spear in her hands blurring as it collided with a cultist that had been aiming for the redhead.

The yell of pain that followed that, causing Samantha to look back and see Erza, with a sword in hand, taking down another one of them that had been ready to attack the brunette. Staring at her for a second, Sam held out her hand "You watch mine and i'll watch yours."

Looking at the hand for all of a second, the redhead slapped her hand against Sam's "Right."

With that settled the two looked towards a group of cultists that we coming towards them, slightly savage grins appearing on both girls faces as they dashed forward.

**Heart of Fire.**

Two days. That's how long they had been fighting, and while the slaves had gained more and more ground each day, they were starting to have more and more people injured. Everyone fought as hard as they could, but none harder then Erza and Samantha. The two worked together every time they stepped up to fight, and tore through the soldiers faster then any of the other slaves. The spear that Samantha had used on the first day was still on her, being taken care of enough that it wouldn't break.

Erza, on the other hand, was wielding both a sword and a shield, the large weapons looking out of place on the little girl, but at the same time, they seemed to fit. Something that had caused the brunette to through what looked like a small sized breastplate toward the girl. After getting a questioning look from the redhead, Sam's expression shifted into a slightly sheepish smile "Well, I mean, if your using a sword and shield, you might as well complete the knight look. I mean, it'll keep you safe too so..."

"What about you?" The redhead asked, her expression showing worry, past rivalries gone for the time being due to the fighting.

A simple shake of her head was all the silver eyed girl gave "Sorry, but it'd just slow me down. I'm not as strong as you are Erza, I can't keep going at the same speed with armor on. I'm fast, and that'll just slow me down."

With a noise of understanding, the redhead gave a smile towards Samantha, before turning her attention back on the fighting in front of them. Seeing the girls gaze was all that Sam needed to see before she spun the Spear in her hands, holding it in a throwing stance. A grin was sent Erza's way, before she launched the spear into the middle of the enemy, the girl in turn speeding after it far faster than anyone else on the battlefield. Erza joined the fray not even a second later, her sword glinting in the sunlight as she attacked.

That was two days ago however, and the current day of fighting had yet to truly begin. Samantha was getting antsy, the tension in the air being enough for her to send a look around them periodically. She had a bad feeling that something was going to happen, and not in a good way either. Shifting side to side again, the brunette's gaze landed on the redhead, who was talking to some of the other people that were on the island. Tapping the butt of her spear against some rocks a few more times, a sigh left the girl before she walked over towards the Erza.

"Hey Erza! What are we going to do today anyway?" Samantha's voice trailed over as she got closer.

The redhead's response was quick, even if she wasn't looking towards Sam "Were going to free the 8th sector today."

"But there's too many soldiers there!" Simon spoke up, his voice hesitant, as he looked towards the redhead.

The determined expression on her face, however, showed that she wasn't deterred "We need to save Jellal soon though!"

Samantha almost let out a laugh when she saw the expression that was on Simon's face. The Brunette had seen that jealous expression on his face more then once, and honestly it was obvious to anyone but Erza that he liked her. In face she would have actually laughed as she saw Wally's teasing expression, if not for the fact that every instinct she had for danger flared up suddenly.

Looking around them, Sam didn't have the time to react as a Fireball flew out of nowhere, hitting Simon directly, and getting him flown back. Yells of horror left all of the children as they saw the burnt from of the boy, Millianna almost instantly going to his side to bandage him up. The screams of fear from others, broke Sam out of her stunned state though, as she sent a glare towards Cultists that were coming towards them.

Despite herself, even as everyone around them was getting attacked, even though she wanted to protect people, she couldn't move. She tried her best to force her limbs to move, struggling with her very being to actually move and do something. Despite this she couldn't and she recognized this feeling. She was afraid. She was afraid of the Magic that the Cultists were using. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to move a single step forward, the struggle more than she really thought it was going to be.

Her form shook with effort as she continued to move, the magic missing her for the time being, but one spell caught her attention. Wide eyes looked towards where the spell was aimed, and despite her fear, she forced herself into a run, her hand stretched out towards Erza, as the spell started to head towards her. She wasn't going to make it in time, she knew it, but she still tried to get there as fast as she could.

Another figure blurred into existence in front of the redhead, taking the spell for the girl in turn, something that caught both Erza and Sam of guard. The brunette had finally reached them, her hand touching the old man, even as he laughed "To think this old geezer was good for something after all…"

"Rob-Jichan don't say that!" Samantha protested, tears collecting in her eyes "W-we can still get you to someone to patch you up! Y-your not dead yet!"

Another chuckle left Rob as she fell to his knees "It's alright you two… I've felt my time coming for awhile now… I'm just glad this useless old man could help you one last time… Freedom is in your heart… Go make your dreams come true, Erza… Samantha…"

With one last smile, the old man fell onto his stomach, the ragged breathing he had from taking the blow finally stopping, leaving the Guildmark that he had shown the children many a time before, out in the open. Despite the pain he felt, a smile was still on his lips as he finally breathed his last breath. The peace he felt being from protecting two of the children he had come to love like family. That was the best way to go as far as he was concerned.

The sound of someone crying out in anguish echoed across the battlefield, Erza yelling her pain to the heavens, while Sam sat on the ground her expression stuck in one of Horror at the sight of Rob dead. She couldn't hear anything at the moment, whether that something was people yelling in fear from the Mages, or the fact that Erza was crying as well. Either way it didn't matter, as almost at the same time that Erza had a red magic circle appear under her, an Orange one appeared under Samantha.

The two girls cries of Anguish turned into roars of rage, the redhead causing weapons and tools all around them to float upwards and straight towards the monsters that had trapped them for years. Samantha, on the other hand, felt fire go through her Veins, her whole form seeming to glow with a light that rivaled the sun. Everyone that could see her stared in shock as one second she was standing up next to Erza, and the next she was amongst the cultists that Erza's swords didn't get, her spear taking them down easily.

Panting slightly from the effort, the Brunette looked at her hands with surprise, before clenching them "So that's what you meant by Magic Rob-jichan…"

Sending a look over towards where Erza was, the redhead's eyes were narrowed with anger as she strode forward, the rest of the 'Slaves' behind her. A nod was the only thing that Sam sent towards the girl, before she blurred forward using the same strength that she had found not to long ago, taking out any Magicians that were trying to attack the group from a far, while Erza and the rest tore into anyone that stood in their way.

The fighting Didn't take long after that, with the two girls continuing onwards towards where they knew Jellal was. Both of the girls cared little for anything that the cultists that were in their way were saying, simply cutting them down without a second thought. Both having the same thought process at the moment. After all the years of pain, suffering, and Anguish these men had caused, they didn't deserve mercy.

They eventually made it to where Jellal was, a smile of relief making its way onto Samantha's face "Cut him down quick Erza, I can take a look at him after that for injuries."

The redhead wasted no time in doing so, Quickly taking a hold of him to try and set him on the ground, but Jellal grabbed a hold of Erza quickly, Sam's eyes widening in surprise, at least until he spoke "We don't have to run anymore… i've finally realized, true freedom is right here."

"What the hell are you saying Jellal?!" Samantha snapped at him, even as Erza detached herself from the boy.

An almost evil chuckle left the boy as he grinned at the two girls with an almost insane expression "Don't you get it?  **True freedom lies in Zeref's world!** "

"W-what?" That was all Erza managed to get out, the surprise and fear on her face being mirrored by Samantha as the two looked at Jellal.

The boy in turn simply turned away from them, the evil expression on his face still there "I finally understand why they went into all of the trouble to capture so many people to revive Zeref… But these bugs could never feel his presence, they were only a pitiful bunch of believers!" The boy took his foot, and gentle set it upon the had of one of them that hadn't been killed, his expression growing as he looked down at the man "This tower is mine now, I'm going to complete this tower, and use the R-system to Resurrect Zeref!"

The last word was emphasized by him slamming his foot down onto the man's skull, crushing it in an instant, a horrified gasp leaving the brunette's mouth, with Erza holding her mouth with her hands. The boy continued to do this to more of them as the two girls could only stand and watch, horrified. Samantha looked like she wanted to do something, but every memory of the boy she had prevented her from raising the spear at him, even as he mocked the both of them for not being able to feel Zeref's presence.

"Get a hold of yourself Jellal! This isn't you!" Samantha yelled, a single step forward was all she managed, her from shaking with an emotion she couldn't place "Your a kind boy that wouldn't hurt anyone unless it was to protect someone el-"

A loud cry of pain left Samantha as she felt a fist collide with her stomach, sending her flying into a wall. The pain of the collision forced her to her knees as soon as she landed, her eyes flickering with shock and anger both at the boy. Letting out a cough at the pain, Samantha barely registered Erza trying help both of them up, before the two were sent flying down a hallway by a blast of Magic Jellal sent at them.

"Hm… Since it seems the both of you wish to leave so badly, i'll let you, by yourselves." Jellal spoke, causing the two girls to look up towards him the pain going through their bodies not enough to hide the shock "The others will stay here though. I need the manpower to complete the tower after all… Ah, but you don't have to worry, I won't be cruel like those wizards were. Plenty of rest, cloths on their backs, and time to enjoy themselves. Working them cruelly like they were before is only a hindrance to efficiency."

A coughing fit went through Sam's body as she managed to get up slightly with Erza's help, her tone harsh as she spoke "The hell are you talking about? None of them are going to stay here after all the time they spent as slaves! Everyone's already at the ships as well I bet!"

"Hm… But you see, they were never told their purpose for working like they were. I will tell them the truth, about their working being for reviving a great Wizard Zeref, that can make any of their dreams a reality." The boy spoke back, his smile growing more cruel when he saw the two girls continue to get up.

Erza's pleading with the boy was cut off quickly by a pair of invisible hands grabbing her throat, hard enough to hurt, but soft enough to not cut off her airway, with the same happening to Sam, the blue haired boy bringing them close to him "I don't need either of you anymore, but I won't kill you. Think of it as thanks for taking care of those useless men that were in our way before. So go, chase your fleeting, Insignificant freedom, but know that if anyone from the council finds out about this, I will have to start from scratch with this tower, destroying everyone and everything in it… Starting with Sho, Millianna and Wally."

A sharp intake of breath followed that statement, causing the two to realize just what the gravity of the situation truly was. The cruel look on the boys face grew as he started to laugh at them. Sam felt like that would have been all the boy said before tossing them aside, before a decidedly evil look appeared on his face "Ah, but to make sure that you will always remember this place…"

The boy cut himself off, confusing Samantha for all of a second, before she felt pain ignite on her face, right under her right eye. She could just barely register the pain before she felt herself collide with something else, unconsciousness quickly claiming her a second later.

**Heart of fire.**

What felt like days to Erza passed as she kept both her and Samantha afloat on a simple piece of wood, making sure that her friend, her only friend that was left, was still alive. Whatever time it had taken for them to finally reach a beach, it was more than enough time for her to take Samantha and set her on her back, the brown haired girl still unconscious from everything that had happened. Finally on dry land, however, the redhead collapsed to her knees and started to cry her anguish to the heavens.

They were free, but the price had been to much for either girl to bear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there you are, the end of chapter, set with the end of the Tower of Heaven (younger years), and with Jellal leaving Samantha with a "Gift" on her face to remind her of the tower even as she tried to leave it behind. Sometimes I fell as if I am needlessly cruel to my characters, and times like these are exactly why i feel like that some days. Whatever the case, I do hope you guys liked the chapter, and as always I hope to hear from some of you guys like I have been through PM's at the moment. Whether its a Review of a PM I thank everyone for the support that I've been shown so far!
> 
> As Always, please leave a Review an let me know what you think, i'm always eager to hear from you guys!

**Author's Note:**

> Well, what did you guys think? Originally I was just going to have Rob and Samantha talk a bit more about why she shouldn't try and attack the Cultists, but I kind of figured that since she's 9 at the moment, she'd be a bit more impressionable then any of the other kids in the tower probably would be. If you guys think that was a bad idea, I can try and change up a couple of things as a result. Either way I'm happy with the results though, and I'd like to hear your guy's opinions on it as well. Please leave a review if you feel up to it.
> 
> Till next time then!


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